IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v22y2012icp164-178.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards a new intermediate hub region in container shipping? Relay and interlining via the Cape route vs. the Suez route

Author

Listed:
  • Notteboom, Theo E.

Abstract

The Suez Canal plays a pivotal role in today’s global container shipping network, in particularly in accommodating vessels sailing on the important Asia–Europe trade lane. This paper analyses to what extent and for which trade lanes the Cape route could develop into a competitive alternative to the Suez route. The market potential of the Cape route is analysed using a distance analysis, a transit time analysis and a generalized cost analysis for a large set of O/D relations. We compare vessel interlining via the port of Algeciras with interlining via the new port of Ngqura in South Africa. The results show that the Cape route has the potential to serve as an alternative to the Suez route on 11 trade lanes. A scenario and sensitivity analysis reveals that interlining via a hub near the Cape is expected to become more competitive due to a combination of higher Suez Canal transit fees, better vessel economics, higher bunker costs, slow steaming practices and subject to a more competitive terminal pricing strategy of southern African transhipment facilities. The expected emergence of the Cape route should be seen as the embodiment of a promising development of south–south trade volumes between Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and South America.

Suggested Citation

  • Notteboom, Theo E., 2012. "Towards a new intermediate hub region in container shipping? Relay and interlining via the Cape route vs. the Suez route," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 164-178.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:22:y:2012:i:c:p:164-178
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692312000075
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.01.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jérôme Verny & Christophe Grigentin, 2009. "Container shipping on the Northern Sea Route," Post-Print hal-00568193, HAL.
    2. Liu, Miaojia & Kronbak, Jacob, 2010. "The potential economic viability of using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative route between Asia and Europe," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 434-444.
    3. Rodrigue, Jean-Paul & Notteboom, Theo, 2010. "Foreland-based regionalization: Integrating intermediate hubs with port hinterlands," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 19-29.
    4. Theo E Notteboom, 2006. "The Time Factor in Liner Shipping Services," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 8(1), pages 19-39, March.
    5. Notteboom, Theo E. & Vernimmen, Bert, 2009. "The effect of high fuel costs on liner service configuration in container shipping," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 325-337.
    6. Robert McCalla * & Brian Slack & Claude Comtois, 2005. "The Caribbean basin: adjusting to global trends in containerization," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 245-261, July.
    7. Verny, Jerome & Grigentin, Christophe, 2009. "Container shipping on the Northern Sea Route," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 107-117, November.
    8. Kjetil Fagerholt *, 2004. "Designing optimal routes in a liner shipping problem," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 259-268, October.
    9. Emmanuel Guy, 2003. "Shipping line networks and the integration of South America trades," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 231-242, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Paul Tae-Woo & Hu, Zhi-Hua & Lee, Sangjeong & Feng, Xuehao & Notteboom, Theo, 2022. "Strategic locations for logistics distribution centers along the Belt and Road: Explorative analysis and research agenda," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 24-47.
    2. González Laxe, Fernando & Jesus Freire Seoane, Maria & Pais Montes, Carlos, 2012. "Maritime degree, centrality and vulnerability: port hierarchies and emerging areas in containerized transport (2008–2010)," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 33-44.
    3. Bai, Xiwen & Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee, 2019. "A destination choice model for very large gas carriers (VLGC) loading from the US Gulf," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 1267-1275.
    4. Zhu, Siying & Jia, Shuai & Sun, Qinghe & Meng, Qiang, 2023. "An empirical study of China–Singapore International Land–Sea Trade Corridor: Analysis from supply and demand sides," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 1-10.
    5. Xu, Mengqiao & Li, Zhenfu & Shi, Yanlei & Zhang, Xiaoling & Jiang, Shufei, 2015. "Evolution of regional inequality in the global shipping network," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-12.
    6. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Pettit, Stephen & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Haider, Jane, 2018. "Arctic shipping: A systematic literature review of comparative studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 112-128.
    7. Heitmann, Nadine & Rehdanz, Katrin & Schmidt, Ulrich, 2013. "Determining optimal transit charges: the Kiel Canal in Germany," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 29-42.
    8. Zhao, Hui & Hu, Hao & Lin, Yisong, 2016. "Study on China-EU container shipping network in the context of Northern Sea Route," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 50-60.
    9. Yip, Tsz Leung & Wong, Mei Chi, 2015. "The Nicaragua Canal: scenarios of its future roles," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    10. Kim, Hwa-Joong & Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee & Lee, Paul Tae-Woo, 2018. "Analysis of liner shipping networks and transshipment flows of potential hub ports in sub-Saharan Africa," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 193-206.
    11. Bensassi, Sami & Márquez-Ramos, Laura & Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Suárez-Burguet, Celestino, 2015. "Relationship between logistics infrastructure and trade: Evidence from Spanish regional exports," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 47-61.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tavasszy, Lóránt & Minderhoud, Michiel & Perrin, Jean-François & Notteboom, Theo, 2011. "A strategic network choice model for global container flows: specification, estimation and application," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1163-1172.
    2. Theocharis, Dimitrios & Pettit, Stephen & Rodrigues, Vasco Sanchez & Haider, Jane, 2018. "Arctic shipping: A systematic literature review of comparative studies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 112-128.
    3. César Ducruet, 2016. "The polarization of global container flows by interoceanic canals: geographic coverage and network vulnerability," Post-Print halshs-00749639, HAL.
    4. Christian Finnsgård & Joakim Kalantari & Zeeshan Raza & Violeta Roso & Johan Woxenius, 2018. "Swedish shippers’ strategies for coping with slow-steaming in deep sea container shipping," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Yip, Tsz Leung & Wong, Mei Chi, 2015. "The Nicaragua Canal: scenarios of its future roles," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 1-13.
    6. Lin, Dung-Ying & Chang, Yu-Ting, 2018. "Ship routing and freight assignment problem for liner shipping: Application to the Northern Sea Route planning problem," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 47-70.
    7. Lasserre, Frédéric & Pelletier, Sébastien, 2011. "Polar super seaways? Maritime transport in the Arctic: an analysis of shipowners’ intentions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1465-1473.
    8. Junseung Kim & Kyungku Kim & Kum Fai Yuen & Keun-Sik Park, 2020. "Cost and Scenario Analysis of Intermodal Transportation Routes from Korea to the USA: After the Panama Canal Expansion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-20, August.
    9. Sibul, Gleb & Jin, Jian Gang, 2021. "Evaluating the feasibility of combined use of the Northern Sea Route and the Suez Canal Route considering ice parameters," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 350-369.
    10. Xu, Hua & Yin, Zhifang, 2021. "The optimal icebreaking tariffs and the economic performance of tramp shipping on the Northern Sea Route," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 76-97.
    11. Koçak, Saim Turgut & Yercan, Funda, 2021. "Comparative cost-effectiveness analysis of Arctic and international shipping routes: A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 147-164.
    12. Qiang Meng & Shuaian Wang & Henrik Andersson & Kristian Thun, 2014. "Containership Routing and Scheduling in Liner Shipping: Overview and Future Research Directions," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(2), pages 265-280, May.
    13. Wilmsmeier Gordon & Sánchez Ricardo J., 2010. "Evolution of shipping networks: Current challenges in emerging markets," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 54(1), pages 180-193, October.
    14. Eddy Bekkers & Joseph F. Francois & Hugo Rojas†Romagosa, 2018. "Melting Ice Caps and the Economic Impact of Opening the Northern Sea Route," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(610), pages 1095-1127, May.
    15. Zhao, Hui & Hu, Hao & Lin, Yisong, 2016. "Study on China-EU container shipping network in the context of Northern Sea Route," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 50-60.
    16. Zeng, Qingcheng & Lu, Tingyu & Lin, Kun-Chin & Yuen, Kum Fai & Li, Kevin X., 2020. "The competitiveness of Arctic shipping over Suez Canal and China-Europe railway," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 34-43.
    17. Zhang, Yiru & Meng, Qiang & Ng, Szu Hui, 2016. "Shipping efficiency comparison between Northern Sea Route and the conventional Asia-Europe shipping route via Suez Canal," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 241-249.
    18. Francois, Joseph & Leister, Amanda M. & Rojas-Romagosa, Hugo, 2015. "Melting Ice Caps: Implications for Asia-North America Linkages and the Panama Canal," Conference papers 332671, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    19. César Ducruet, 2020. "The geography of maritime networks: A critical review," Post-Print halshs-02922543, HAL.
    20. Lasserre, Frédéric & Beveridge, Leah & Fournier, Mélanie & Têtu, Pierre-Louis & Huang, Linyan, 2016. "Polar seaways? Maritime transport in the Arctic: An analysis of shipowners' intentions II," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 105-114.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:22:y:2012:i:c:p:164-178. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.